Ongoing Regulation for Registered Charities
As of 1st August, 2011, the statutory requirements relating to the audit of Manx Registered Charity accounts was amended (via the coming into operation of the Charities (Accounts) (Amendment of Amounts) Order 2011.
In summary the revised audit/examination requirements are:
| Charity’s Gross Income in the
Accounting Year | Statutory Requirement for External Examination of Charity’s Accounts |
|---|
| Less than or equal to £25,000 | No requirement for external examination (charities still have to file accounts with the General Registry within 6 months of year end.) |
|---|
| Greater than £25,000 but less than or equal to £250,000 | Full Audit or an independent examination by an accountant, a qualified ‘independent examiner’ or a person approved by the First Deemster |
|---|
| Greater than £250,000 | Full Audit by an accountant or a person approved by the First Deemster |
|---|
These amendments apply to all charity accounts whose financial period commences on or after 1st August, 2011. Should your current accounting period predate 1st August, 2011 then the following table must continue to be used:
| Charity’s Gross Income in the
Accounting Year | Statutory Requirement for External Examination of Charity’s Accounts |
|---|
| Less than or equal to £5,000 | No requirement for external examination (charities still have to file accounts with the General Registry within 6 months of year end.) |
|---|
| Greater than £5,000 but less than or equal to £100,000 | Full Audit or an independent examination by an accountant, a qualified ‘independent examiner’ or a person approved by the First Deemster |
|---|
| Greater than £100,000 | Full Audit by an accountant or a person approved by the First Deemster |
|---|
However, it should also be remembered that, in addition to these statutory requirements, the charity will also have to comply with any specific account requirements detailed within its governing document (e.g. constitution/trust deed/memorandum and articles of association etc.).
The General Registry has developed guidance on independent examinations to assist charities and independent examiners.
Copies of:
-
The amended Charities Registration Act 1989
- The new Charities Regulations 2007;
- The Report to be used by Independent Examiners (in editable form);
- Guidance On Independent Examinations;
are available for download at the bottom of this webpage.
It is anticipated that these amendments will assist Manx charities in fulfilling their statutory obligations whilst maintaining appropriate accountability to the public.
Details of any changes to the charity, its governing instrument, officials, etc must be filed at the General Registry, within one month after the change. Changes to be notified include:
- Changes of officials and their addresses and other contact details;
- Changes of the charity’s address and other contact details;
- Changes to the governing instrument (before making any changes to a governing instrument, it is advisable to ensure that these changes will not affect the charity’s charitable status.)
You will need Adobe Acrobat to download documents that are PDFs, this is available free by following this link:
